


21 ways to say I love you

by Anonymous



Series: mythical-soul's fics [4]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-23 03:08:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4860749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are many ways to say I love you without having to actually say it </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <i>(or a fic in which Rhett and Link realize how easy/hard is to love your best friend.)</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	21 ways to say I love you

**Author's Note:**

> I got inspired by this [post](http://youalwayshadtremblinghands.tumblr.com/post/126284939104/one-hundred-ways-to-say-i-love-you); this is a really messy fic because love and life in general are really messy but at the end, everything is worth it. Anddddd, they never married and they don’t have kids so yeah.
> 
> Hope you enjoy it! ♥

 

 

Both had been sitting down at the desk, looking at their crew working around with the lights and the recording equipment. It was their first recording since they came back from their vacations and Rhett couldn’t help but observe at Link beside him: he was tanner, he was wearing a shirt he had never seen on him before and his hair was shorter.

Link scratched his jaw and he opened his mouth to say something but Rhett stopped him.

“So strange you didn’t shave before coming in.”

Link was now looking at him, frown on his face but a small smile appearing too. “You never notice.”

“ **I noticed** ,” Rhett shrugged before resting his crossed arms on the desk, his back hunched but still looking at Link. “Just saying, I noticed. You also cut your hair and have new clothes- you look good.”

“Who are you and what happened to Rhett?” Link leaned into Rhett, his left hand moving towards Rhett’s face, wanting to poke his cheek. Rhett looked away, almost getting out of his chair, hearing Stevie’s laugh followed by Lizzie giggling. When Link stopped bothering Rhett, he sat with his back resting on the chair, his arms crossed. ”Thanks man.”

“What for?” Rhett asked, deep on the information in front of him. Link shrugged beside him and just kept staring at his best friend; Stevie was standing in front of them, ready to do a countdown for them to start.

Link shook the warm feeling on his chest and cleared his mind, ignoring Rhett’s words.

(He couldn’t really ignore them.)

 

+

 

“You’re not leaving this house like that” and Rhett stopped doing his hair when he heard Link’s words. He saw his best friend’s reflection in the bathroom mirror (dark suit and white shirt, bright tie, no glasses on, and Rhett couldn’t help but stare at Link’s blue eyes because they were _so_ blue). “Your tie is a mess, is what I’m talking about, not your hair.”

“You better not be talking about my hair,” Rhett smiled before returning to do his hair, noticing Link walking over and closing the toilet lid to sit on top of it, taking out his cellphone and checking some mail. “Are you nervous?”

“About tonight?” He asked back after a few minutes immersed on his phone, then looking up at his friend. “ **Come here, let me fix it**.” Rhett moved over and Link stood in front of him, undoing the tie’s knot.

“Yeah, I was talking about tonight,” Rhett said.

“I’m not nervous. I mean, if we win, it would be amazing but if we don’t, it’s totally alright.” He sighed and stopped. “I don’t understand why you dress yourself up and then brush your teeth and do your hair.”

Rhett sighed and shrugged, “it’s easier.” Link didn’t say anything after that and focused on doing the knot of the tie correctly, since he was doing it inverse. Rhett couldn’t help but stare at Link’s fingers and hands and the simple but quick moves he was doing.

“Ready- oh, no, wait,” and Rhett was about to move when he felt Link’s hands on his arms. He saw one of Link’s hand moving towards his face and his other hand tighten his grip, so Rhett didn’t move. He felt his friend’s finger pressing softly against his face and then moved away. “There, you had an eyelash.”

Both of them were still there, really close to each other. Link noticed he was still holding Rhett’s arm and pulled it away is if just electrocuted him. “You should finish changing.”

“Yeah, will do” and Link left the bathroom without saying anything else. Rhett leaned into the counter and took a deep breath because _what the fuck was happening between the two of them? Why his heart was racing and why he suddenly felt so nervous?_  He took a deep breath, looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and left, trying to push everything into the back of his mind.

He didn’t care, he did _n’t_ _care, he didn’t care…_

(He really, really cared.)

 

+

 

It was really rare that both of them would get invited to a same wedding but, when it was a youtuber wedding, it was possible that they would have seats next to each other.

Night had fallen hours ago and Link knew that they would be entering into that hour in which almost everyone had one too many drinks on themselves and the vlogging cameras would be put away.

That was Link’s favorite hour because it started to feel as if it was a normal wedding with friends and food and a lot of alcohol. Yet, it was starting to become a nightmare because next to him there was a woman that, while he had seen her pop up somewhere in YouTube, he was starting to become annoyed at her. There was no one else in the table but them and Link started to search desperately for some familiar faces in the crowd.

“ **Can I have this dance?** ” The woman fell quiet when he heard Rhett’s voice next to him.

Link turned on his seat and saw Rhett leaning forwards, one hand behind his back and the other one extended for Link to take. He excused himself with the woman, who just laughed and nodded, and Rhett took his hand, pulling him away from the table.

“Are you alright?” He chuckled, looking down at Link.

“Yeah, I just wanted to get out of there,” he laughed back, looking at the dancing crowd in front of them. A slow song started to play (the sound of a trumpet and violins and the glorious voices of Ella and Louis) and some people started to disperse but other people joined. When Link felt Rhett’s eyes on him still, he frowned at his best friend. “You didn’t mean it, right?”

“Come on, like it’s the first time we had danced together,” Rhett shrugged.

“Really, to Summertime?” Link sighed and shrugged too, squeezing Rhett’s hand. “Let’s go then.”

It was strange at first to have your best friend so close to you, dancing to a slow song but the feeling quickly went away, noticing that they were the most sober ones in the dance floor. Rhett’s breath hitched when he felt Link’s head resting on his shoulder and he was afraid Link noticed how hard was his heart beating. When Link didn’t say anything, he relaxed and just rested his chin on top of Link’s head, moving slowly at the music.

If someone played the song in a loop, Rhett was sure that they wouldn’t even noticed the sun rising and the people leaving, the groom and the bride disappearing and the people falling asleep on their chairs.

Link told himself that he didn’t like dancing with Rhett but something in his mind told him he was lying.

(He did enjoy dancing with Rhett.)

 

+

 

His phone ringing was what woke Link up.

For some reason Rhett started calling him in the middle of the night, sometimes because he had a horrible nightmare and sometimes because he felt like talking to someone or sharing any new idea that came up to his mind. Link never questioned why Rhett called him, he just answered the phone and talked to him. It got to the point that he would put Rhett’s contact with the loudest ringtone his phone had, so he could actually wake up instead of just turning around and ignoring it.

Tonight was one of those nights.

“Hey,” he answered, trying to not stumble over his own words. “What’s up?”

“You were sleeping” and for the first time in days, Link heard the guilt in Rhett’s words. Link sat down on the bed, rubbing the sleepiness out of his face.

“No, I was working on some stuff,” Link lied and he could hear Rhett’s soft huff that basically meant he kind of believe that. “ **It’s okay, I couldn’t sleep anyway**.”

“Fair enough” and Rhett tried to believe what Link said but he still remembers seeing his best friend falling asleep on top of his computer and the dark circles under his eyes. When Link asked him why he was awake, Rhett only answered “I just wanted to talk to you.”

Link would be lying if he said that those words made his heart jolt on his chest. “Well, okay.”

And, for the first time in months or years, they talked about whatever came into their minds, laughing mindlessly at some stupid rant they started. It was strange to do that because, since they started doing their morning shows and the podcast, they would usually save everything until they were in front of the cameras or the microphones.

Link missed this kind of conversations: no cameras, no people and no microphones recording.

“I missed this,” he found himself saying to Rhett, looking outside the window of his apartment, sitting still on his bed. They had been talking for hours yet he could only see the yellow street light coming into his bedroom. “I missed talking to you like this.”

There was silence and Link thought he messed up.

Yet, Rhett answered him, honesty slipping into his words almost carefully. “I missed it too. The mornings before we came into work were the best, talking to each other in the car.”

Link laughed. “Yes, they were great.”

Now, they were silent and not because they ran out of topics, they just took a moment to take everything in. Link could hear Rhett’s low breathing and he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Everything in these past weeks had been making him think way too much about his relationship with Rhett, it started making him nauseous: the subtle touches, the off-hand compliments, the moments were they couldn’t take their eyes off each other. Link took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“We should go to sleep,” Rhett commented, surprising Link.

“Yeah, we should.” It didn’t matter it was three in the morning and that tomorrow was Saturday but they both of them needed to stop talking, needed to stop thinking about the other and sometimes sleep was the only way to get away from reality. “Well-”

“Well, sleep tight” and with that, Rhett hung up.

Link lied down on his bed and tried to sleep but the bed now seemed way too big for him.

(It also seemed way too empty.)

 

+

 

 “You know, **you can tell me anything** ”

Link stopped himself mid swig when he heard Rhett’s words coming out one quiet evening. Both of them were hanging out after work on their office, drinking some beer and just talking quietly at each other, Link’s laptop on the coffee table and Rhett’s guitar on the floor but leaning on the couch they had there.

“About what?” Link asked, looking at him from the floor. He had been siting there for a while, since he got tired of being on the couch. “I know I can talk about you anything.”

“Then what’s happening between us?” And Link has to stop again because of Rhett’s words.

It took him a few minutes to gather himself and find an answer. “I don’t know.”

“You know very well what’s happening.”

“Why do you ask if you know the answer?” Link snapped back and found Rhett looking at him with his eyebrows up and a surprised expression on his face. He didn’t mean to sound upset but Link didn’t want to acknowledge the situation between them. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah,” Rhett said and Link could notice the disappointment on his voice. “You want to eat in that Chinese restaurant down the street?” With that, he got up and took both of their empty bottles and started walking towards the door.

“Stop it, I know you’re upset.” Rhett was quiet for a moment and then nodded.

“Just know that I’m here if you want to talk. I’d love to give this a chance.”

Rhett turned around and saw Link giving him a small smile before looking down at his computer.

(Rhett knew that Link was afraid

He didn’t know that Rhett was almost as afraid as him.)

 

+

 

Link was leaning on the wall, right in front of the coffee machine, waiting.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed someone and when he looked up, Rhett was standing there, close to him, hand on Link’s arm. “Hey, I was looking for you” and today’s episode appeared on Link’s mind because Rhett had been so touchy and so encouraging to him.

“Well, I was looking for coffee” and he laughed at Link’s comment. Rhett is now leaning against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest and Link somehow felt smaller than usual. Both of them were looking at each other in silence for a while until they noticed Jen coming in and awkwardly leaving the kitchen after getting some cookies. “You wanted to talk?”

“Yeah,” Rhett snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at his feet. “I wanted to apologize.”

“Apologize? What for?” Link frowned at his best friend.

“I was a little touchy today, thought that maybe that bothered you. So, **I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to**.”

Link is just standing there for a moment until he shrugged and moved forwards to get his coffee. “It’s alright, man, it’s not the first time we had done things like that.” Rhett smiled and patted his shoulder before leaving the kitchen. Link took a deep breath before sipping his coffee and not caring about burning his mouth because fucking Rhett was doing weird things to his mind and heart and soul and _god, give him patience_ and-

(Link seemed to shrug it off when, in reality, his heart stopped whenever Rhett touched him

And now he hated himself because he sounded like a teenage girl in love.)

(Oh god, not in _love_.)

 

+

 

The next time the question of _what’s happening between us_ came out from their mouths, it didn’t end so flawlessly like the last time. This time, they had been building up so much tension between them to the point that became palpable. They had been talking in their office and then their voices started to raise quickly, their quiet talk becoming into an argument that would eventually become into a verbal fight.

After a few minutes, Link found himself sitting down at his desk, elbows on the table and face hidden on his hands. Rhett was standing away, his arms crossed over his chest and looking around the room as if he was trying to find a hiding spot.

“We cannot leave the conversation like this” and when Link looked at Rhett, he was looking away. “Rhett, you say you would be here for me when I wanted to talk about this, now you’re ignoring me?”

“I’m not ignoring you,” he answered in a mumble.

“I’m trying to give this a chance!” Link hid his face again on his hands. “This is what I was afraid of.”

“Afraid of what, Link?” Then, the words that came out of Rhett’s mouth didn’t have that hint of angriness that was before there. He sat down on his chair and rolled it next to Link, looking worriedly at him.

“Of breaking our friendship, Rhett. What- what if we mess this up and we can’t work together as before? What if this _thing_ doesn’t work at all? I’m willing to give it a chance, to see how it goes even if I’m afraid of messing everything up” and those last words were so quiet and Link sounded so small, it hurt Rhett.

“Well,” Rhett said after a while, “We never until we try. **We can figure things out** , right?”

Link noticed the hand on his knee and looked up at Rhett. “Is that a _yes, can we try this out_?”

“Yeah, sure.” Rhett a smiled. “So…”

“So, yeah. Okay, that’s… awesome” and Link smiled widely, a content look on his face.

Both of them got up of their chairs and Link just pulled him into a hug that Rhett returned hesitatingly. He hid his face on Link’s neck, in the process accidentally pushing Link’s glasses out his face but when they fell into the floor, neither of them separated to get them up.

(He gave Link a soft squeeze

And, to Link, it felt just right.

To Rhett, not so much.)

 

+

 

They had been going out together for a few weeks and life seemed ten times easier after all.

Link started to wrap his head around the idea of them being something more than coworkers, more than best friends. Everything felt alright and he wasn’t sure why he had been so nervous about everything.

They went to eat in a small restaurant in downtown LA. Dinner was nice, the food was good, the ambient was great and everything seemed perfect but, at Rhett’s eyes and heart, it felt as if something was wrong. Link noticed his best friend being a little more restless than usual but he shrug it off with the thought that maybe he was as nervous as him.

They ended up walking around in some busy street, restaurants and shops on its sides. At some point, Link bumped into Rhett’s shoulder to get his attention, to ask “ **Can I hold your hand?** ” and he feels Link’s hand brushing against his and he can’t help but tangle their fingers.

He noticed the smile on Link’s face but even when it felt good, he felt something heavy on his chest.

(That night Rhett couldn’t sleep and Link didn’t answer his phone.

When Rhett needed Link’s reassuring voice, it went straight to the voicemail.)

 

+

 

Link was almost surprised when he found out that he had a new message on his phone when he woke up that morning. The three am text that came from Rhett and only said _we need to talk_ and that stirred something inside Link in a bad way.

They didn’t say anything in the car because he asked Link not to.

Both of them sat down in their chairs and pulled them closer but Rhett moved his away from Link’s when he felt his knees bump. “You’re going to hate me about this but we have to talk about this.”

“About us?” Link asked, just as an excuse to clear his throat because he knew this was about them- it had to. “What about it? I did something wrong last night?”

“No, not at all,” Rhett said and sighed. Link noticed how he started to move his hands nervously. “I don’t think this is going to work. I’m so sorry.” Link was looking at Rhett speechless, opening and closing his mouth. He started blinking rapidly, trying to keep the tears to himself; he only mumbled _ouch_ and Rhett could see the pained expression on his face.

“I’m sorry, Link, I really am.” He was, he truly was but he can’t wrap his head around this and he felt horrible about it. “It’s just that, well, maybe you were right, maybe we aren’t supposed to break this” and at that, Link took a deep breath and started to look around the room, ignoring Rhett’s eyes on him.

“You don’t have to say anything, Rhett. I get it” and Link’s hands are open in front of him, as if he was trying to tell him that he didn’t want him close. He started giggling and Rhett knew he was laughing to keep himself from crying. “It was too good to be truth. I get it, don’t worry.”

When he saw his best friend getting up from the chair, he called him with a soft “ _Link_ ” and tried to stop him by grabbing his hand but Link jumped away as if it had burnt him.

“Rhett,” he called, a soft smile appearing on his face but Rhett noticed the glassy eyes, the tears that were hanging dangerously, waiting for the forthcoming fall. “ **I want you to be happy** , okay? And if- if you aren’t going to find it with me, then alright, I totally understand” and with that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.  

(Rhett leaned back on his chair and let out a shaky breath.

And this was only the start of their day.)

 

+

 

They quickly fell into a strange normalness that neither of them liked but it was more than necessary because they had to work together.

Rhett wasn’t sure how Link ended up in his apartment but there he was, standing at the counter while Rhett did the same in the other side. He looked up and noticed that Link was eating some prunes (and that made him remember his best friend when they were in college, when they were young and just friends and nothing else.)

When he glanced at the hour on his computer and before his mind understood what hour it was, Link was already speaking. “I, I should leave. It’s already midnight.” Rhett looked at Link and observed a tired look on him, his fingers rubbing his eyes, his glasses up on his forehead.

Link started packing things up but he noticed Rhett’s eyes following carefully.

He was almost out of the door when he felt Rhett’s hand wrap around his wrist. “You should stay.” Link felt a knot on his throat and he noticed Rhett moving away, as if had realized what he had done. “Or not. I’m sorry, I overstepped. You should-”

“Stay,” Link interrupted him. “I’d love to stay.”

Rhett smiled softly and nodded. “Okay.”

Later, they found themselves lying on the same bed, their backs turn to each other. It didn’t bother them.

Rhett was falling asleep when he felt Link move in the bed.

“We should talk.”

“We should always talk,” Rhett mumbled, his face pressed on the pillow. Link didn’t answer so Rhett turned around on the bed and he noticed that Link was facing him. “You told me not to say anything.”

“I was upset, Rhett,” Link said, almost rolling his eyes. “It really hurt.”

“Do you think you can forgive me?” Rhett asked. He could barely see Link’s face because everything was dark but the weak light of the moon entering through the blinds yet he couldn’t see much. He blinked a few times trying to distinguish Link’s face and that when he saw them: the tears. “Oh, Link, **don’t cry.** ”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, his voice small and Rhett couldn’t help but move his hand and caress Link’s hair, hearing Link’s breath hitch. Rhett was silent, his fingers starting to tangle on Link’s hair.

“I never gave you a reason,” Rhett whispered.

“Because you didn’t have one.” Link answered and Rhett only hummed because _god dammit_ , Link knew him too well and he had acted only on instinct, on stupid instinct blinded by fear. “I know it hurt you as much as it hurt me but, man, I was starting to think about everything and it made sense.”

“Link,” Rhett murmured softly, as if it was a warning that he didn’t want to hear about that.

“No, Rhett, I’m talking seriously here” and he propped himself on his elbow, looking at Rhett next to him, his dark hair going everywhere. “I was really hurt, I felt _bad_ and I was at the verge of an attack after I left the office _but_ … I understood, it’s alright. I mean,” he fell back into the bed, this time looking at the ceiling. “I want you to be happy, maybe you’re right and this wasn’t going to work but, next time don’t agree into something if you aren’t sure about it.”

Rhett shot him a sad smile at his best friend and brought him closer into a hug. “I’m really sorry.”

He felt Link’s hand on his arm, caressing it softly. “It’s alright.”

It took some time for Link’s hands to get limp on top of Rhett’s arm, his breathing becoming deeper and quieter. Rhett took a moment to observe his best friend sleep and think about things like maybe he shouldn’t be afraid, maybe he should understand that they were probably meant to be with the other.

Everything he had been feeling was fear and it over took him.

He hurt Link without wanting to but he forgave him, because he wanted the best for him. Rhett thought about the many times they had been just the two of them and how cheerful was Link sometimes and how it felt right- yet, something in the back of his mind told him that nice things weren’t for him.

Link was one of those nice things.

He fell asleep with Link on his arms, waking up between dreams and memories, still finding him there.

(He thought that maybe he shouldn’t push him away,

He should bring him close

And give it a proper chance.)

 

+

 

It’s been almost months since that night and both of them continued with their lives.

Rhett told Link he was flying to North Carolina that Friday night and that he was going to return Monday morning. He frowned at the news and asked if everyone was alright; Rhett just smiled and told him that he needed time away from the big city and Link believed him because, yes, it was exhausting sometimes.

“If you need anything, just tell me, okay?” Link smiled at him before returning to work on his computer. Rhett smiled from the other side of the desk and did the same.

Friday afternoon was really quiet without Rhett around, the same had been with the weekend. He even thought of shooting him a text to Rhett but he decided against it: if he needed time away from the city, from him, he would give him time away.

Sunday afternoon, Link spent most of his time looking at his phone.

He wasn’t sure what he was waiting but when he was lying on his couch, he made sure there weren’t any missed calls or text messages that he didn’t notice before. After that, he spent most of his time running through Rhett’s and his old conversations before he got tired of it. He locked his phone and left it on the coffee table in front of him.

He didn’t mean to fall asleep but the show playing in the background lullabied him into a restless sleep.

Monday morning had him at the edge of his seat and anytime one of the crew opened the door, he expected it to be Rhett, only to disappoint himself when he saw it wasn’t him. He took his cup and tried to drink from it when he realized he didn’t have any coffee.

He got up and was about to open the door when he felt the door pulled itself away from him; Rhett was standing at the other side of it and Link felt Rhett’s hand wrap around his wrist and pull him towards their podcast room. He closed door and made Link sit down.

“What’s wrong with you?” Link asked when he noticed Rhett walking around the room, nervously.

“I thought about it, like, I really thought about it,” he started, grabbing a chair and sitting in front of Link; this time their knees bumped with each other and neither of them moved away. Rhett took Link’s hand on his and looked at him straight in the eye. “I want this.”

“Really?Because you say that last time and look how we ended up” and Link didn’t really wanted to bring that up, he didn’t want to sound so upset and sad but there he was, with Rhett’s hands grabbing his.

Rhett took a deep breath. “Well, I told you we’d figure it out if we messed things up. So, this is my way of making things right: I was an idiot, I was blinded by fear and I fucked up because I didn’t realize how good this was, how good this is.”

 Link took a deep breath and shook his head. “What do you really want, Rhett?”

“You” and the easy and quick answer made Link felt almost dizzy for a moment.

It probably passed a few minutes before one of them said something. “ **Are you sure?** Very, very sure? I don’t want to think I pulled you into being with me and the next thing we know is that you’re unhappy and-” Rhett took his hand and squeezed it softly, looking at him with a smile on his face.

“I’m very sure,” Rhett answered.

“Okay,” Link nodded. “Just, don’t be an idiot again.”

 “I can’t make promises in general but you got my word I would really like this,” Rhett smiled. Link wasn’t prepared for the hug he received, but he well damn needed it. Rhett’s arms pulled him towards him and pressed him hard against his chest and he couldn’t think of anything else but the warmth that he felt and the soft chuckle running through Rhett’s body.

(He returned the hug and wanted to fall asleep in Rhett’s arms.

And, to Link, it felt just right.

To Rhett, it felt even better.)

 

+

 

Rhett promised Link he would cook something for them tonight.

Yet, they were too wrapped up with a new project that needed most of their attention.

They ended up going out to some fast food place where Link started grabbing Rhett’s fries which developed into a small bicker between the two. It wasn’t a fancy restaurant in downtown LA, they didn’t have to dress up and they didn’t have to be all formal with the other; if this was a date, _god damn_ it was a great one.

They had to stop at Starbucks because Link say if he was going to work all night, he might as well have something to keep him awake. Rhett just shook his head and rolled his eyes, with a smile on his face.

Both of them came back to Rhett’s apartment, bags with papers and computers on their shoulders and pinky fingers linked. They started working and their back and forth was something that felt almost unique. Rhett had someone missed the easiness between them and he realized how the process had changed along with them-

Link sat down on the countertop, to Rhett’s dislike, but he didn’t say anything. He stood up from the stool and walked to stand in between Link’s legs, smile on his face. Link didn’t stop sipping from his drink even when he felt Rhett’s hands resting on his thighs.

“ **Can I kiss you?** ” Rhett asked, his face really close to Link’s. His best friend put down his drink beside him and put his arms around Rhett’s shoulder, their noses bumping into each other.

“Maybe,” he answered and Rhett almost shivered when he felt Link’s warm breath hit his cold skin ( _why he was cold, why he was nervous?_ ) He felt Link’s fingers on his hair, moving him closer. Rhett moved away for a moment to take Link’s glasses off, making his best friend smile. He left them next to Link’s drink and stepped closer again. Between smiles, he pressed his lips against Link’s and _whoa_ -

If a kiss could be deafening, this was pretty up there, because all he could hear was nothing and all he wanted to do was to drown into Link’s soft touch. Rhett’s hands moved under Link’s shirt, the tip of his fingers craving for his skin and Link brought him even closer, wrapping his legs around Rhett’s waist.

While Rhett had kissed many people before, he never knew how it felt to kiss someone you love.

Someone you _love_ , _someone you love._

He broke the kiss and took a deep breath, his forehead pressing against Link’s. “That was pretty awesome,” Link uttered and his hands moved away from Rhett’s nape to caress Rhett’s neck, his fingers tracing his muscles and the faint veins he could see under the kitchen light.

“Yeah and you taste like pure sugar,” Rhett commented, making Link laugh. “I wouldn’t mind getting into a diabetic coma because of you.”

“Don’t joke with that,” Link said, hitting Rhett’s chest softly. “Shut up and kiss me again.”

“Will do,” he replied, smile on his face.

(And he did, forgetting about the computers on the table, forgetting about the now cold drink beside them, forgetting the world existed around them, forgetting about his mind telling him that he couldn’t have him.

He was kissing someone he loved, he loved Link,

And he felt fantastic.)

 

+

 

Weekend became their favorite time of the week.

They meant hanging out together, going out together, watching something together, not doing work together, doing nothing together, something many things together, but it also meant having time to be apart. Their needed their _alone_ time so it wasn’t that weird that they actually spend it away from each other.

Link saw the selfies that Rhett sent him from when he went out with Joe and some of the SourceFed guys; Rhett noticed the new message notification early that morning and saw Link’s video of him showing him the sunrise because he felt like going for a hike around five in the morning just to see the sun come up; Link liked Rhett’s photo on Instagram, a photo of two cups of coffee with the caption _I got used to order two cups of coffee every day and now I have to drink them both, hurray_ that made Link laugh; Rhett smiled widely when he saw in Nick’s personal Facebook a selfie of Link and himself, the mountains and what it looked like a bicycles behind their backs.

They had their own lives, they always did.

But it was nice to have someone to return to at the end of the day.

Link entered to Rhett’s apartment with the keys he had been given and left his wallet and phone of the kitchen counter before starting to search for Rhett, to later find him on the study, playing mindlessly something on his guitar.

“Hey there,” Link greeted him, stopping for a moment. Rhett smiled when he felt Link kiss his temple before sitting down on the other chair, stretching. “Can I stay here tonight?” Rhett finger slipped on his guitar and turned around to frown at Link, confused expression on his face. Link thought that maybe he had upset Rhett and started to apologize.

“Link,” Rhett interrupted him. “ **You don’t have to ask**. You practically live here.”

Maybe he didn’t realize but Rhett was more than right: he had more than enough clothes mixed with Rhett’s, his phone charger plugged on _his_ side of the bed, his favorite cup sitting on the sink, his toothbrush in the bathroom behind the mirror, hidden away from the bacteria, and he even noticed the black rimmed glasses that he had in case of emergency sitting on the desk, behind Rhett’s computer.

“Oh” and that was all he could mumble before looking at Rhett. “I guess you’re right.”

“Why the sad face?” Rhett asked, paying more attention to Link than to his guitar.

It was Link’s turn to frown. “What sad face? I like living you, I guess.”

Rhett rolled his eyes but smiled before returning back to the guitar tab opened on his computer.

(Link liked having his own time without Rhett but

Returning to him was probably the best time in the day.

Also, the bed didn’t feel that big and lonely anymore.)

 

+

 

Link groaned into the pillow when he tried to open his eyes but the sunlight was hitting straight on his face.

He shuffled in the bed, curling on himself, trying to fall asleep once again. When he failed, he moved around the bed and opened his eyes without being blinded by the sunlight; he noticed this wasn’t his bed but Rhett’s. Then, everything came into his mind: the soft touches, the moans, the lust, the pleasure- he couldn’t help but shiver at the reminder of it.

Stretching, Link lied on his back and turned his head to the other side of the bed where he found Rhett sleeping. He started tracing the hickeys on Rhett’s neck and shoulders, with an unusual sense of proudness.

“Hey,” he jumped when he heard Rhett’s voice. Rhett was looking sleepily at him, his eyes half closed and Link couldn’t help but think he had won the lottery of life. “What‘re you doing?” Link smiled and moved over Rhett’s so he was lying on top of him, legs tangled and all. Rhett huffed when he felt Link’s weight on him and started complaining but Link kissed him quiet. “We have to run errands, Link, you know that.”

“Rhett, I’m _comfortable_ here. **It can wait until tomorrow** ” and Link hummed when he felt Rhett’s hands caressing the soft skin of his back, his fingers stopping at the elastic band of his underwear; he started pressing gentle kisses on Link’s face, making Link know that he had won this battle.

Rhett didn’t fight him anymore because he had an amazing night last night with the man he loved and, well, why not let the blissful moments become longer?

(Rhett had sex with the man he loved and it was amazing-

Scratch that,

He made love to the man he loved and it was amazing.)

(Rhett would later complain that they should have done everything yesterday but Link only shrugged, smile on his face. He didn’t regret anything.)

 

+

 

Rhett had been walking around his apartment, getting dressed to go out with some old friends, and all that time he could feel Link’s eyes over his laptop, watching him. That was very normal for Link to observe him but what was throwing Rhett off was the small but warm smile on his boyfriend’s face.

“You looking at me is starting to get weird” and Link giggled, closing his laptop and getting up the couch to put it on the desk at their study. Rhett sat down on the couch to put his socks on but Link distracted him when he in front of him. “Care you tell me why are you smiling so much?”

Link rested his hands on Rhett’s shoulder and sat down with his legs on either side of Rhett’s. His arms wrapped around Rhett’s shoulder, while Rhett’s hands rested on Link’s hips. “It’s really silly.”

“You’re really silly,” he said and Link punched his arm softly, with a fake offended expression. “Tell me.”

“Just, well,” Link answered, his hands wandering on Rhett’s neck and ended up playing with the hair over his nape, gel free. “ **I never been this happy** ” and Rhett quickly dropped the ridiculous smile off his face to now stare at Link’s face. “In love, in life- I mean, it feels amazing.”

They were in silence for a while until Rhett wrapped his arms strongly around Link’s waist and pulled him into the couch, rolling on it and out of it. Link was laughing and he wasn’t sure how he ended up under Rhett. “You’re the worst, I mean it,” and with that, he kissed Link.

They kissed between giggles, between moans because fingers were wandering under t-shirts and between laughs that came from Link because Rhett’s beard was tickling him, it ended up with him pushing Rhett away because he was trying to press his beard on his neck.

Seeing Link under him, glasses askew and smile wide on his face, made Rhett notice something.

It never crossed his mind that he had never been _this_ happy.

(Maybe he was happy, maybe he helped Link to be happy too-

and that second thought really hit him and made him smile.)

 

+

 

_Home_ was a word Link didn’t usually use to describe California.

That was usually used to mean Buies Creek or North Carolina in general.

He found himself stopping midsentence when talking to someone because he had said _home_ to reference his apartment or Rhett’s apartment, to reference the city he had been living in for a few years now.

Link entered his apartment and noticed the bedroom light on; he didn’t even thought twice about it because he knew that Rhett was there, the shoes lying in the hall between the living room and the bedroom made it obvious. He leaned on the doorframe and observed Rhett reading on the bed, his back against the headboard, pillows in between.

Rhett noticed the look in Link’s face but didn’t say anything. He patted the empty side of the bed and it didn’t take Link more than a few seconds to take his glasses and shoes off and lie down with his head on Rhett’s chest, Rhett’s hand playing mindlessly with Link’s hair, the other hand holding his kindle.

“What happened?” Rhett asked, not taking his eyes away from his lecture.

Link sighed and tried to look up at Rhett. “Is alright if I call California home?”

“Why it would be bad?”

“I don’t know, it doesn’t really feel like the place one would call home.”

“Well, people say that home is where the heart is” and Rhett awkwardly looked down at Link, before continuing his reading. “Or something like that, I don’t know about corny stuff.”

Link laughed softly and curled closer to Rhett. They were in silence for a while until he asked his boyfriend “Can you read aloud whatever you’re reading?” Rhett nodded but told him that he should change and then he would read to him.

When Link was under the bed and found himself into the same position as before, Rhett started reading softly. “ _The lobby is swarming with people. All the countries of the world simmering in a single broth. He is nowhere to be seen. The shouts of…_ ” Link relaxed at Rhett’s voice, the rumble on his chest thanks to the words coming out of his mouth, and he can imagine the story occurring on his head.

He was dozing off when he couldn’t hear Rhett’s voice anymore. He looked up and noticed that Rhett was looking down at him, warm smile on his face. “You fell asleep.”

“No, I’m not. I’m totally awake,” Link answered, trying to shake the sleepiness off himself. “ **One more chapter** , please.” Rhett smiled and continued reading until he finished the chapter, noticing that Link was now deep into Morpheus’ arms.

(Maybe Rhett was right,

Maybe the heart defined what’s home and Link had always pointed home at Rhett’s direction.

It made sense.)

 

+

 

Rhett was sitting in a restaurant terrace, looking out at the L.A skyline, sipping on his soda while he waited for Link. His mind was running with the thoughts of the last few months and he smiled at the nothing.

Then suddenly, his mind stopped thinking about the past but focused more about the future. He started thinking about work, the new projects they had been putting their hearts into, the conventions they were going in the next months and-

Something caught his attention when he heard a clamor behind him and when he turned around, he saw a man in one knee, a small box on his hand, in front of a woman who was clearly brought to tears. He couldn’t help but smile when she started nodding and saying yes over and over again, mumbling under her breath.

When everything calmed down, he looked at the empty chair in front of him and thought about the idea of marrying Link. Even then idea took the breath out of his chest, making him almost queasy.  He could imagine himself proposing in the GGM set, recording it, or a quiet night at home, just sitting down with him and telling him- oh my god, _what if that would make him cry?_

Rhett heard something that brought him back to reality, a couple with a child was sitting not too far away from them. The man was doing silly faces to the child while the woman was just watching the scene lovingly, as if it was the most gorgeous thing in the world.

And maybe it was because imagining Link with their child on his arms, wrapped in a bundle of blankets, was the best thought that could cross Rhett’s mind, along with the thought of Link talking to their kid even when he/she is not old enough to understand anything he’s saying but he/she is laughing cheerfully, or the idea of seeing Link running around their backyard and- oh god, _their_ backyard. Rhett thought about the idea of buying a house with Link, making it theirs and-

“Hey.” Rhett looked up and noticed Link walking to the table, before sitting down. “What’s wrong? You have a weird expression on your face,” he said before sipping Rhett’s soda.

“Nothing, **I was just thinking about you** ” and Rhett was thinking to himself _yes, I was thinking about marrying you and having kids and buying a house but I guess the last one is a good step to start, right?_

Link laughed, looking at his phone but he quickly glanced at Rhett. “You big sap.”

(Yeah,

It seemed like a fucking good place to start.)

 

+

 

Rhett disappeared around the office early that morning, after they had finished filming an episode.

Link had been sitting in Stevie’s office for a while, talking about some sponsored stuff and something caught their attention in the corner of their eyes: Rhett was knocking on the window between the office and the main area and when he got their attention, he started pointing at Link.

“I’ll come back,” he pointed at Stevie and go up, startling Enzo behind them. He went out the office and closed the door behind him, before standing with crossed arms in front of Rhett. “What are you doing?”

He noticed that Rhett had his hands behind his back and he was trying his best to hide it. “ **Close your eyes and hold out your hands** ,” Rhett said but receiving a weird look from Link. “Come on, it’s not a snake or anything like that.”

“Ugh, why did you even mentioned” but he did indeed closed his eyes and held out his hands, flinching when he felt Rhett moving. A _Don’t move_ from Rhett made him stay still and then, he felt something soft and light on is hands: papers. “What is this?”

When he turned the papers around, he noticed the printed houses and apartments around their office with the prices and the number of bathrooms and bedrooms and it took Link a moment to understand what was happening. He looked up and noticed Rhett’s big smile.

“We can go house hunting together! I love sharing a place with you but instead of having two places, it would a lot better if we only have one,” when Link didn’t react, he started rambling how it was less money, how they could carpool together without having to deviate from the main route and all the good things about having a place together.

“Are you sure about this?” He chuckled in surprise when Rhett nodded. “Okay then. I’ll look through but,” he took the papers and showed them to him, “did you really have to print all these? Later you’re complaining that the ink runs out too fast.”

Rhett laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay. I’ll be on the office” and he leaned and kissed Link’s cheek before walking away from him.

Link noticed some of the crew looking at him and he only started at them. “Go back to work,” he told them and they laughed among themselves. When sat back down in Stevie’s office, he left the papers on her desk before rolling close to her computer.

He didn’t notice she was staring at him with a smile on her face.

“Stop it, don’t you even dare to say anything” and she laughed, moving a blonde strand of hair away from her face and into the back of his ear. She shrugged and said _I’m just happy for you, boss_ ; Link only mumbled a thanks before continuing to work.

(Link spent that night sitting on his apartment doing annotations on the houses.

He watched each one of them with the idea of them living in together, as a couple.

Biting his lip, he tried to suppress a smile.)

 

+

 

“You know, you should come and stay at home one day,” Rhett said, focused on signing the bill then putting his credit card on his wallet.

Both of them had been discussing their vacations together back at home, back in North Carolina, and Link looked at Rhett with wide eyes. Link knew what he meant with that, it was as if he had said _you know, we should tell my parents about what we have_ and Link almost felt sick because his mind started thinking about all the things that could happen.

“We’ll see,” he answered, before getting up and walking towards the front door of the restaurant they were eating in, Rhett just followed him silently.

Suddenly, they started getting upset with the other, everything was a reason to start a discussion with the other: a single dirty dish, Link taking one of Rhett’s shirts, Rhett leaving his computer on the coffee table in the living room. They would end up going to bed upset with the other and even that was a cause of other discussions.

One night, Rhett said something that resonated on Link’s mind until dawn.

The question of _are you ashamed of us_ stumbled off Rhett’s lips and into the floor, not before being caught between Link’s fingers and let them slide. Rhett noticed how much the words hurt his boyfriend but before he started apologizing, Link was already walking away from him, hand on his chest, entering the study and closing the door behind him.

It was hours before Link fell asleep, the words running on his mind.

He woke up by the feeling of the couch sinking at Rhett’s weight. Link searched for the back of Rhett’s shirt and pressed himself into it, feeling Rhett tense at his touch. “I’m sorry” and Link’s voice sounded broken and he knew he had been crying. “I’m not ashamed of us, I’m afraid of how they’ll react.”

Rhett looked at the ceiling, closed his eyes and sighed; he shifted on his seat so he could see Link’s face.

He moved away some strands of hair that were falling on his boyfriend’s face and gave him a small smile. “I know. I’m the one that should be apologizing,” he continued to caress Link’s hair, looking into his blue eyes. “If you don’t want to tell them, then-”

“I just want to know if I’m invited to a McLaughlin’s house, I don’t want to be an inconvenient” and Rhett was sure he had a surprised expression on his face because Link just shoot him a nervous smile. “They are going to know one way or another, right? It would be better if we tell them ourselves.” He smiled back and started kissing Link’s face all over, making him giggle sleepily.

Link looked so tired and Rhett knew that probably he didn’t sleep well on the couch.

He took Link on his arms and carried him to the bedroom, not caring about his back and not caring at Link’s soft complains. He threw him in the bed with a soft chuckle, kissed him and told him **_go back to sleep_** and just sat there, caressing Link’s hair until he had fallen asleep. He carefully got up from the bed and covered his boyfriend with one of their blankets.

Now he really didn’t want to go out and jog but stay with him, curled on the bed.

(And that’s what he did.

He could jog other day.)

 

+

 

The last episode of the season was always loud, messy and full with people around them because they probably did something idiotic and the crew is all gathered up behind their chairs, talking and probably eating something awful from that day’s episode.

All of them were already gathering everything up when Rhett heard Link calling his name. “Yeah?”

“ **I love you** ” and the words make Rhett’s world stop and he’s sure some people in the crew are staring at them while others flew away from the scene as soon the words came out from Link’s mouth. Link took a deep breath- Rhett thought that maybe Link didn’t realize what he said and it just came out, pure honesty.

Link started to laugh hard, one elbow on the table and that hand hiding his mouth, his eyes closed forming wrinkles all over his nose and his eyes, and he can’t even move because he’s laughing so hard and Rhett just falls in love all over again with him because _oh my god he’s gorgeous_.

“Come here, you idiot” and Rhett wrapped his arm around Link’s shoulder, pulling him closer, his other hand poking Link’s side, making him laugh harder and trying to move away from his grip. Rhett just started kissing his face, making exaggerated kiss noises and poking him even harder.

Some of the crew laughed and commented how different they were since they started the season and Rhett can’t help himself but think about it all the afternoon because it’s _so_ true, he even found himself watching the first episode to the most recent one and it almost feels strange to see them change that much. Yet, he pushed it away from his mind because that difference was good, it was the best kind and he had never thought that this would happen but there he was.

Rhett looked over his computer screen and to Link, who was sitting in front of him, working on his own computer. Link looked up when he heard Rhett calling his name, followed by **_I love you too_** and they shared a look. Link just smiled down at his computer, his cheeks red.

“You have nothing to say?” Rhett asked, a smug smile on his face.

“Go back to work, Rhett” and he couldn’t help but laugh.

(Everything felt more than right.)

 

**Author's Note:**

> talk to me @ [mythical-soul](http://mythical-soul.tumblr.com/) in tumblr!


End file.
